Wordless Wednesday

 

From when I took pics last Friday when DH was off. He was leading Junior to the backyard for more pictures.

See more pictures here.

Moving on...

When we got here, DH was assigned to a company that everyone told us you could never escape from. Now almost 5 years later--while everyone else has left except for one or two others--we are FINALLY getting to leave. We will be stuck at Fort Hood--didn't expect them to make me deliriously happy--but DH will be moving to a different company. We never even thought we would see that. While his current CO is great, I am hoping that the move will be a nice change of scenery and will provide him more opportunities. I can try to be optimistic! Now if they would just lower the promotion points all would be well.

Memories Revisited

 

I finally moved to all digital, but I continue to find old rolls of film that I haven't gotten developed. My husband has been home since Dec 2nd of last year and these pictures were taken as he saw the girls and then met his son. Yes, the only picture of me was chosen because you can't really see me in it! But checkout those curls! How in the heck did only Junior get the curls? These aren't in order because I couldn't figure out how to do that, but the one where DH's mouth is open is seeing Junior.

Junior this morning....

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

My what big feet you have!

More pictures here.

My appointment

I had to work today so I scheduled an appointment to use my microdermabrasian gift certificate while I was out there. I got in to the room and she told me how to wear the velcro towel--don't laugh, I wish someone had given my little sister and I lessons like this before we made fools of ourselves at a spa trip a year or so ago! I got underneath the nice warm blankets, put my hair up and started to relax. She massaged my face and I was on the verge of falling asleep. Then the MDA started. It wasn't that bad, a little uncomfortable until I got used to it, but not bad at all. It was the step afterwards where they rid you of blackheads and whiteheads that about killed me. Instead of being on the verge of sleep I was on the verge of tears! Then she went back to the relaxing stuff again and all was well.

My face is a little red, but it sure feels better. Of course I had to buy new products to use on it and I need to schedule another session in 4 weeks.

I might have to choose this over the trainer....

Personal Trainers, Daycare and Play

Has anyone ever used one? Are they worth the money? So tempting as I see the results of those that follow the program. My doctor recommended a program but that costs money too. Maybe I should just go get certified to be one, can't be anymore expensive, just more time consuming. Of course I still want to be a paralegal--maybe? (I need your input on that Jess about the job and the program) If only I could figure out what I am supposed to be when I grow up....

Junior went to his first three hours at hourly daycare today and had a ball. He loved every minute of it, scarfed down his food and was ready to take a nap when we showed up. I brought him home and he napped for two hours. Tomorrow he is going for a longer period of time since I have to work, but I am sure he will be fine. He's a great little guy, just busy busy busy.

The local theatre is putting on The Full Monty next week and they are offering tickets one night to military families. I got two thinking that DH and I could go, but our moms are both out of town so there goes our evening babysitters. My friend that I would take just had a baby so I guess I will go alone. How sad is that! I'll be the person in the back of the theatre trying not to look like the loser, lol.

Puppies

Yesterday DH and the children went over to his parent's house so that they could help change out the bedding for the pups. I stayed home and did laundry...it was so peaceful....but I digress. The puppies are growing fast and are going to be so pretty, but huge. Anyone want one or two or three?

Ordered

I finally ordered a computer armoire after someone came to my door and saw my current method of the ottoman wedged in with the computer chair wedged in with the play pen wedged in with the chair. It worked most of the time though! I wonder what Junior will do with all his new found time since besides playing with the basket of unmatched socks his favorite pasttime is to try to find new ways to get to the computer.

Miss December

I know a colondar girl! Way back in 1999, I worked a hellatious job where I met a girl named Heather. We became fast friends and even went through our second pregnancies together and our daughters were born a day apart. Heather moved off to California and while driving through there we stopped off each time for a visit. As most people know in the military, true friends are friends forever.

About two years ago Heather was diagnosed at the age of 28 with stage IV rectal cancer that had spread to her lungs and liver. During this time Heather created a blog in order to let people follow her courageous battle with this cancer. Heather is candid in her blog and lays it all out on the line as she went through treatment, went into remission, and once again had the cancer return.

I recently got a letter from Heather that she said I could share, and I am hoping that others will support a good cause. I'm so proud of her and all that she does to make people aware of how colon cancer CAN happen to those that are young. She speaks out on the issue and is active in several organizations all while being a single parent to two beautiful children.

Dear friends,

For those of you who don't already know, in June I became part of a really cool project - the 2008 Colondar.

The 2008 COLONDAR is a 12 month wall calendar of 12 colorectal cancer survivors who have been diagnosed under the age of 50, and I am featured as Miss December. Each months model/survivor's photo is accompanied by a short bio about his or her experience with colorectal cancer.

I do have to warn you, its a pretty "sexy" calendar, although it was designed to be beautifully artistic and tasteful. All of the models (including me!) are "showing off" our scars by baring our bellies - so if you are easily offended by things like this, you might want to skip looking at the Colondar!

Our goals with the Colondar are 1) to show that anyone can get colorectal cancer at any age, 2) that colorectal cancer can be detected early and BEATEN, and 3) that it is beautiful to be a survivor.

Go to www.colondar.com to check out the pictures, read the stories, and find out more. The 2008 Colondar makes a great gift for friends and family, and of course your nurses and doctors! You can order them online or from me and save yourself the shipping!

We hope that everyone enjoys the 2008 Colondar - please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for all your support!

Heather

Change

Since DH is gone so much he misses out on so much with the girls and Junior. When he returned from Iraq last December Junior was just over 5 months old and he had only seen him for the first 13 days of his life. DH carried Junior in and was going to set him down on the ground as I was busy putting down the diaper bag, etc. I heard him ask the girls if he could sit up yet and they told him no. It kind of hit me then how much he had missed out on and how even with pictures, letters and phone calls he still didn't know his own son. We quickly remedied that and he has always been a very involved father with diaper changes, baths, medicines, etc. with each of our three children.

A lot can change in a month. DH left knowing his son and in that month he grew, changed and started new routines. So yesterday he spent the afternoon and evening learning what his son likes and dislikes now. He learned the new way of putting Junior down for the night and (since he still doesn't sleep through the night)what Junior was looking for at each time of the night--bottle, binky, time to wake up. I didn't realize how much Junior had changed during this time. I mean I knew, but I can't imagine what Chris sees when he comes home to such big changes in a little guy. The girls grow up and change a lot but it is not nearly as drastic as Junior. He is climbing on top of the furniture, starting to throw little fits, knows to wait by the door when it is time to go "bye-bye", can work a lot of his toys and much much more.

So when DH leaves soon I will make a point of putting everything down on paper for him, more scrapbooks, and tons more pictures (if that is possible!). I meant to do it last time but ran out of time, but this time I want to do a Year in Review album and put down the highlights of each month at the END OF THE MONTH (and now wait since I know I won't have time to do it then) for him to enjoy.

Headed Home

Dh should be home soon and of course I caught a cold. Hopefully he doesn't get it as the world stops when he gets sick!

Took Junior to get his picture taken today by my frind Molly at Photographics Unlimited. I can't wait to see the proofs! They have a great setting there and can do a lot of outdoor shots which I love. I like variety. We will go back before DH deploys and get some shots of DH with the kiddos. I know I should get in some pictures, but I am not ready for that yet! I got three microdermabrasian sessions for my birthday (what I wanted) and I have an appointment next week. Maybe I will look/feel younger?

Girl Scouts starts tonight and the girls will be in the same troop this year. It's a big group of girls so I am hoping that there are no problems.

.....he's home and we are off and running. When does life ever slow down? I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and having my sweetie home.

Also Abs was on green today and did not get in trouble at all. She saw the doctor yesterday and got her medication adjusted and hopefully we are headed in the right direction. The teacher said she is extremely bright and can do everything asked of her and do it correctly. She does have a referral out for an ENT and we will talk about the tonsils.

Paperwork and Deployments

Today I had an appointment to get the kids enrolled in Child and Youth Services on post. This will allow the older two to have access to School Age Services if needed and for Junior to be enrolled in hourly daycare and have some interaction with other kids on occasion. I was early for my appointment as I usually am for every appointment--I may not be organized but I am prompt! I actually did have all the paperwork I needed except for the girls' physical. It took more red tape for me to enroll three children than it did for my husband and I to get married and it cost more to enroll them for one year than it cost me to give birth to all three! (Em and Junior were free and Abs cost me $11 for my meals)--it was $40 to register them. We can get that money back if DH gets a letter from his commander stating that he will deploy in less than 90 days. First I told her that it was more than 30 days and then I started to think about it and realized it wasn't. Then it hit me that he was leaving us...again....and he's not even home yet from training and still has another month of field time.

Anyway, because Junior is allergic to eggs they gave me a meal substitute form that I have to get filled out by a doctor and submit before he can be seen at the CDC. I called while she made copies and they said they didn't have the schedule out yet and it would be out later that day. I asked them if he could be seen this week and she said no it would be more like the middle to end of September. So then I told them to book Junior an appointment for his skin problems and he will be seen tomorrow and I'll have the doctor fill out the form. We aren't waiting for a specific doctor, just any random doctor in the Peds clinic. One drawback to military life, but one that usually doesn't bother me too much.

Once all this paperwork is completed and DH deploys I can get 16 free hours of daycare a month and one Saturday a month as well. They have really increased the amount of care, so maybe I can schedule a massage once a month!

I had lunch with the outlaws since my MIL kept Junior this morning for me. Saw the puppies which are going to be huge and cute. I still don't think they need two more dogs, but they don't seem to listen to me....imagine that!

Abs still hasn't had a perfect day at school yet, but she is doing better than I expected and I still have hope that she will get it altogether one day. I hope her teacher realizes what a precious gift she is! Em is doing great and working hard and loving her math class! I never thought I would hear that come out of her mouth, but I bet my dad is smiling hearing that!

Back to the deployment....with it looming around the corner I am going to try to get some free time (yeah right) and start on some of the projects I want to get done before he leaves. I would like to make him a deployment countdown calendar this time (I had intentions last time but with everything else going on it just didn't get done)and of course a scrapbook of our family. I am scheduling family pictures too with a friend of mine who is a great photographer in November and I promise I will get in these!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Abs....we don't leave lotion down anymore.

More pictures here.

The Carnival

The girls spent hours planning a carnival that they put on yesterday. They designed games, came up with prizes (toys they didn't want anymore), made tickets and setup. Abbie banged on a drum that Emily designed out of material and a bucket (I really should have taken pics)and yelled "Carnival" at the top of her little lungs. They had different stations setup and they had one person come and they made 10 cents. They were so disappointed (I got to play for free) but they haven't given up and when DH gets home they plan on trying again and this time making it bigger and better. I told them that they might make more money having a garage sale with their toys, but they decided that wouldn't be as much fun as a carnival.

They even have a box you can sit in and rest...

UPDATE:

I guess I must have missed it while they were planning, but they are raising money for the local non-kill animal shelter, Second Chance. When the puppies that their Oma and Opa have from their stray dog that they adopted are old enough, 4 of the 6 will go there and they want to make sure that they are well taken care of. Such good hearts.

Long Weekend

We didn't do anything too exciting, but the kids and I had fun just hanging out, visiting the inlaws (who even kept them for a few hours on Saturday so I could get some things done!), and even got in some shopping.

A word of advice--never take three children swimsuit shopping even if it is 75% off at Dillard's and they have the handicapped dressing rooms that all of you and the stroller will fit into. I did find some good deals as well as got to hear a lot of comments about what I looked like in the bathing suits. They were nice about it all just told me "yes" or "no way". Em kept trying to get me to try on bikinis, but I am in no way prepared for that!

Dh should be home on Saturday morning! I can't wait! His dad is going to pick him up so that I don't have to go out at 2 am to get him. If he had been gone longer than 4 weeks I would have ventured out, but the thought of dragging three children out in the middle of the night just doesn't appeal to me. Junior doesn't sleep as it is, so I don't need to give him a reason to stay awake!

I am trying out this new menu thing where I select my meals, print the grocery list and then just cook them up. Of course everything I selected can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. So far so good.

I've had three friends that had babies this past week--2 boys and 1 girl! My SIL is due any day now with my new little niece. Babies everywhere! Just glad they aren't coming into our family. We are complete!

Piano

When I was younger I used to beg for piano lessons. My mom figured it was something that was short lived and just moved our piano into my room. I ended up cutting out letters and labeling each key and teachng myself to play some simple songs. My mom relented and enrolled me in piano lessons taught by an older lady at our church. I took for about 5 or 6 years till I was too busy with swimming, sailing and being a teenager. When we moved to Texas I got my piano back and found someone to be my piano teacher again and enrolled Em too. We both took for a year and a half till she moved away after her husband retired from the army.

I play periodically but this past weekend I found some music that I had been missing at my mom's house and I am back at it. Junior loves to sit in the playpen while I play each day and every once in a while he gets fussy if I spend too long on a song. It's been fun going back to play some of the songs that I did when I was much younger and the girls think I play beautifully--always nice to hear!

Maybe by the time DH gets back I can brush up on a few songs and impress him. When we moved into this house they moved my piano in first and I played a couple of scales to make sure it survived the move and the movers had me play for them till I ran out of songs that I had memorized. I used to think that if we ever got to move I would leave the piano behind, but I think we will just pack it along with us and let it continue to travel the world (it originally was bought while we lived in Australia).

Random Thoughts

Abs has pink eye.

I did Boot Camp at the gym today and it was hard and I am very uncoordinated.

I did pilates yesterday and I am sore today and was just as uncoordinated at that as well.

Em managed to lose her homework this morning...which hadn't been done. She got it done while I parked in the parking lot.

Junior has not slept well in days....lots of days....I am exhausted.

Got a text message from DH and all is well, he was watching the sand in the desert pulling guard. Looking forward to coming home.

I need to go to the commissary but I dread the thought of going on a payday weekend.

It's a three day weekend and I have absolutely nothing to do. Hopefully the pools will be open or something so that we can get out of the house.

I came home from the gym and the housing guy told me I needed to mow my grass. Guess I will strap Junior to my back and go.

I have had a headache for the last 4 or 5 days.

They are changing the dates of max leave and it isn't block leave yet, but I couldn't wait to buy tickets to Hawaii till the last minute, so they either have to let us go or we are out of luck. Figures.

Abs has gotten in trouble for talking every single day this week. I love her. Yesterday she also got in trouble for playing rock. paper, scissors. At least she hasn't had an "H" day. That stands for "Hullabaloo--causing a great disturbance". I just hope she doesn't have one of those all year!

I miss my friends...and my husband, but that is a given.

Some People

There is a for sale list here in Killeen and some of the things people want or are looking for just never cease to amaze me. Here's a posting from today:

I need a baby sitter for a 3 yr old from 7 am - 4:30 pm. every day of
the week. diapers and wipes provided. and some one to pick up a 6 yr
old from school. the clarks one in com 2. At 3:15 and keep him till
4:30. I am only able to pay $200 a month. Please Let me KNow.

So for 9.5 hours a day, five days a week and then 1.5 hours a day 5 days a week for the older child you want to pay $200 a month? Can't imagine that anyone that does daycare and provides rates like those is going to be very reliable. Not to mention why not go through the daycare on post or through a FCC provider or something. How do you know what you are getting? Random advertising on a for sale list is how you are going to find someone to leave your precious children with?

It's beyond me. At least this person can spell better than a lot of then. I hate to read "I have the following items for selled".

Wordless Wednesday

 

Missing Daddy....

See more pictures here.

They Survived

Junior and I had a great day by ourselves just going to the gym, shopping and he took a long nap. I should have gotten one in too!

I picked the girls up and it was mass chaos. Finally found Abs and her teacher told me that she did "pretty well" and that she "had a problem with excessive talking". Maybe she gets that from my oldest sister? Luckily she survived and didn't end up with a trip to the office. She told me that her color was light blue, but I am not sure how many colors are on the spectrum. At her old school she could blow through the colors by 11 am, so I am hoping that she has improved some or that they have more colors.

Em did a great job and had a lot of fun. She's just excited that they have two recesses and that they only had learn each other's names today. I'm sure homework will kick in soon enough and she will be tired of school. I used to love homework. I was a nerd back then.....I only wish I had kept that outlook.

After we got the girls we had to go look for the hard to find black and white Mead composition notebook. We finally managed to track it down after we had a car full of cold things from Walmart, at another location, with 100 degree temperatures. I don't know if the ice cream will ever be the same.

Only 4 more days till my birthday!

First Day of School

A few years ago my mom and I were at Sam's and we noticed they had a ton of those plastic bodies that the swimsuits come on. Of course we needed them for something and they have sat in my closet ever since. The girls found them and dressed them with their school uniforms so that they would be ready to go in the morning. At least they are being used now!

Abs and Junior getting ready to leave for school.

Abs, Junior and Em.

Abs--1st grade and Em--4th grade

When I woke the girls up this morning Abs started chanting "First day of school! First Day of school!" Junior was up really early this morning and the girls flew out of bed to get dressed and were ready to go well before it was time. They can eat breakfast at school so they opted for that and Junior and I stayed with them. We had practiced Ab's lunch ID number and when she got up there she got confused and couldn't remember it and didn't believe Em, who tried to help.

They ate breakfast and then I dropped them off at their classrooms. They were both so excited and couldn't wait. Can't wait to hear how they both did!

On a side note, I sent DH a pic of the kids on the cell phone so that he can see them ready to go to school. He has never made it to the first day of school for either one. He'll be gone next year too.

Retreat

After we left school yesterday we sat down on a bench right outside of the double doors so I could look over some papers that Ab's teacher had given me. While we were sitting there people were streaming out of the building and then it turned 5 o'clock--hopefully everyone knows what that means! The loud speakers went off and Retreat started to play. Immediately the girls and I jumped up and turned towards where the flag is. I was thinking about Chris and I glanced around and noticed every single person outside of those double doors had stopped and was standing there quietly. There were probably about 75-100 people and not one child was complaining, screaming or talking. There were no babies crying. There was nothing but respect.

This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity,
our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than
that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It
floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether
in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us — speaks to us of
the past, or the men and women who went before us, and of the records they wrote
upon it.

President Woodrow Wilson

Meet the Teacher

Anyone who knows me knows that I wrestled with pulling Em from private school last year and putting her in public. It worked out well and so this year I pulled Abs from Montessori and put her in public school. Let's hope for the best on that one!

We met their teachers tonight and they were wonderful. I think both of them are going to do well and hopefully learn a lot this year. I talked to Ab's teacher and she said that she had some ideas and was willing to work with me, so hopefully that will be a productive year for her.

The books in Em's room sure looked thick, but they are planning on writing a book this year (right up Em's alley). I signed the girls up for lunches and put money in their account and breakfast starts at 7:20 monday morning. That's a good thing since I can't manage to find them anything to eat every other morning so now they can pick and choose there.

I'm excited about the girls starting school on Monday. I'm excited about getting Junior enrolled in hourly care and scheduling a massage in the next couple of weeks and maybe DH and I can meet for lunch one day with no kids. I wonder what we would talk about since he won't eat with his fingers, use his arm for a napkin, chew with his mouth open, eat too much bread and not eat his meal or drink too much soda......

Wordless Wednesday

This is DH holding Junior right after he was born. He looks small but he was 10 lbs 1 oz. My husband was home on R&R from Iraq and Junior was born two days after he arrived. DH returned to Iraq when Junior was 13 days old until he was just over 5 months old.


Wordless Wednesday

BPA in bottles

If anyone watches the news these days you know about how they are saying not to use bottles that contain BPA because of the risks involved. My sister sent me an article about it today and so I took the time to read it and of course the bottles that I have used for the last two kiddos and still use on Junior are the ones to avoid. Great.

So I dig through my bag full of bottles to see if I can find the glass bottles that I have and some nipples. I wash everything again and prepare a bottle for Junior right before we head out the door to the gym. On the nipples that fit these small bottles are little air vent holes or something like that--I'm sure there is a technical term.

It took Junior all of about 5 sips before he realized he could blow into the nipple and milk would squirt out the hole. He looked like a whale! It was incredibly funny and so typical of this little guy. Of course there was a huge mess with milk everywhere as the girls and I were sitting there watching him do this and not really sure what was going on.

Tonight I found a nipple with no hole on the side. I'm sticking with those.

Waste of Money

When we were stationed at Fort Lewis, our Honda Accord finally died and we needed a new car quickly. We didn't spent the years I spent researching the Toyota and we had heard good things about Saturn, so we bought a Saturn LW 300. It has been nothing but a headache. While the car had less than 10K miles on it the tires started splitting. Then one thing after another went out. It was supposed to not need major servicing till after 100K but they changed that to 60K. Of course our warranty was out at 60K and the repairs found were in the thousands. I called Saturn and they picked up half of the tab because I was furious. Since then it is still causing problems and we are just holding it together till it dies. DH drives it back and forth to work and occasionally I run it to the gym or something. This hunk of junk now has over 116K miles on it--I NEVER thought it would make it this far. I took it in today to get my oil changed (which I used to do every 3K miles religiously until I hit 60K and had all those repairs). I also needed a state inspection so I had them do that as well. Of course the service guy comes in with a list of things that I need to have repaired.

The radiator leaks and that would be almost $1K. I told him it had been leaking for almost 20K miles and I wasn't going to fix it because I could just keep on adding water to it. Then he said the air conditioner fan was broken and when you idle it would not blow cold air only when you were moving and that was almost $1K. I told him I wouldn't slow down long enough to idle at all and that I spent over $2K repairing the entire ac system about 2 years ago or so. I'm not making anymore major investments in this car. If I didn't need a state inspection and an oil change (that's the other clincher you have to take it to the Saturn dealer for an oil change because they have a star shaped wrench to remove the oil filter and none of the other places have it) I wouldn't have taken it in at all. It makes me sick to think of all the money we have invested in this car, but DH and I consider it an expensive lesson. Oh well, it will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

One More Week

The summer has flown by eve3n though it has been two weeks longer than last year. I think Em is excited and Abs opinion on going to a regular school is mixed sometimes. I think she will do fine though. I hope.

Abs has been performing her play every day since Thursday. They are doing Aladdin Jr. and it is really cute. I'm glad that she managed to stay out of trouble for these three weeks so she could participate in the production.

Em has been with my mom since her friend was there visiting her Grandma next door. Em has been sewing and designed a purse and is working on a quilt. She makes clothing too, but not anything yet that I will let her wear outside of the house as too much skin is showing!

Junior plugs along and goes with the flow. He has been staying with my MIL and playing with the puppies while I take Abbie to her performances and volunteer backstage.

The puppies are getting huge! It looks like there father was a black lab and the mom is part lab part mutt. I think the puppies will be bigger than their mother. I am sure they will once they are old enough to partake in the leg of lamb dinners with the other two dogs. I wonder if she will start cooking multiple legs just to keep everyone happy?? Crazy I tell you.

I've been missing the cycling classes at the gym due to Ab's schedule at the theatre so I have taken up running again. I love to run, but my knees do not. Once the girls are back in school I am going to have to go back to the doctor and figure out what we can do to make life easier for my knees.

DH is out in the box so I haven't heard anything for the past two days. He absolutely loves to go to the field when they are out there training and not just sitting around. I'm sure he is roasting, poor guy. He'll be home before we know it.....remind me of that next week when all the children are home and we have no concrete plans. I sure hope Hurricane Dean doesn't show up and keep us in the house because of the rain!

Better Picture

He's not as good looking as my Soldier, but he looks good here!

Elvis

I have never been a big Elvis fan. When we went to Washington DC we drove through Memphis and talked about stopping at Graceland. Although I didn't care for him, I thought it was a place that I should see, so we made plans to stop on the way back.

Graceland was smaller than I imagined and the decorating was not exactly my cup of tea, but it was pretty interesting. By the end of the visit I had a new appreciation for Elvis and we even tuned into the Elvis satellite radio station and listened till we hit Texas.

I had the Today Show on this morning before I went to the gym (ran two miles, woohoo!) and when they started talking about Graceland and Elvis, Abs got really excited and watched the whole segment pointing out all the things she remembered. She then told me that Elvis was "extinct". I think she has been reading too many dinosaur books.

Wordless Wednesday

Neighbors

When we lived in Germany, we had awful neighbors, three sets of them. I was pleasant to them in the beginning, but once I enrolled in school to get my MBA the remarks started flying. DH and I were just married and I had just finished up my bachelor's about a year earlier. We had no children and I was not working, so it seemed like the logical next step. Then I got an internship with the State of Florida in Frankfurt. So not only was I going to school, I was working for free. My neighbors made comments to me about how "your parents should have taught you how to keep house and raise children," "why would you waste your husband's money on something like school and who would be stupid enough to work for free?". The list was endless and they just got downright nasty. I hated stairwell living and learned to ignore them. (I did have one set of neighbors that we were friends with and were normal, lol)

Anyway, I continued working for free and going to school and then eventually I got a job with the American Consulate in Frankfurt and worked for them well over a year while I finished up graduate school and then had our first child. Stairwell living was our first experience living on post and I hated it.

When we moved back to the States we went to Fort Lewis where after 8 months we qualified for on post housing. I dreaded the thought of being in such close proximity of all those other people. We kept to ourselves and I was back at work after staying home a few years and we were plugging away staying busy. During this time our next door neighbor got in a fight and the cops had to be called because his "buddy" pulled a gun as was threatening to shoot because they were drunk and a window on the car got broken. They moved out and the other neighbors moved out and then Megan and Mark moved in. For almost a year I refused to talk to them or acknowledge them for fear they would lead to turmoil. Eventually I broke down and talked to them and they were wonderful! For the next year and a half Megan and I had the time of our lives taking Thai cooking classes, playing games, traveling with our families to Canada, meeting each other's parents and more. When she left we both cried. We are still halfway across the country from each other but we talk regularly and provide support for each other as we survive deployments and face being a single parent while supporting our Soldier.

I need a Megan here. Instead I have what I refer to as "the freaks". Thankfully though, a moving van came today and the "freaks" are headed to a new adventure and thankfully it is one that does not include living next door to me. I will breathe a sigh of relief that I do not have to worry about my car being boxed in, used condoms being thrown in my yard, their dogs running loose, strange men coming and going at all times of the night while her husband is deployed, etc. (Never mind that my husband found their two year old little girl wandering the street at 7 am in a diaper and a tshirt while it was cold and rainy while trying to see into a storm drain. DH picked her up and went to go to his car to find his cell and call 911 when she pointed to her house and he went up there and knocked and gave her back.) Anyway, I know the end is in sight and these people will soon be out of the way and making someone else's life miserable.

Let's hope the next one works out better.....

What I need

I need a computer armoire that I can shut the computer up in and Junior can't get to it. We currently have the computer chair wedged to the side with an ottoman and a Sam's size package of paper towels on the ottoman and the same size package of toilet paper on the floor wedged in next to the piano. It doesn't work. What it does allow us is a warning that he is near the computer and we can run and get him.

Em stayed with my mom last night and so it's just Abs and Junior and I. I didn't take a shower last night and that was my first mistake. Junior was up and down all night and when Abs got up this morning I asked if she could keep an eye on him while I hopped in the shower. That was mistake number two!

Our living room has gates up so that Junior can't get into the kitchen, but he can walk all over the place and down the hall until he gets to the bedrooms, where there is another gate. It's a pretty large area and besides the computer is totally childproof. I put on something I DVRed about dinosaurs for Abs and reminded her to listen for Andrew getting near the computer and just distract him with a toy and keep an eye on him. She's done it before when Em has been gone and we have never had a problem. Today though Abs found fingernail polish. I came out to find stuff everywhere, Junior had found a pen next to the computer and written all over his face--she did try to clean it up and did take the pen away, and there was Abs sitting on my relatively new couch wrapped in an expensive blanket painting her nails with hot pink nail polish. Since she hasn't painted her nails very often, she had painted her fingers pink. Luckily I found her before she had finished the first hand.

Everything is cleaned up but I am getting a computer armoire soon! I found one at the thrift store yesterday and thought about it, but we didn't have the room to load it and they were about to close. It would have needed to be sanded and stained and I am probably better off buying something new than trying to find the time to do that. They have one at the px, but it was over $800 and not worth that much. I checked IKEA and they didn't have anything that I thought would work or would fit in this area. I can't move the computer because there is nowhere to move it, so I am kind of stuck.

Maybe we will checkout the furniture stores today.....

Off to NTC

The last time DH went to NTC (2005), we dropped him off and the girls sobbed and sobbed. They begged him not to go and so we usually do not do goodbyes like that anymore because it is so hard on everyone. When he deploys to Iraq again this fall it will hopefully fall on a school day and we will get them off to school and then I will take him and stay with him till it is time to leave. On R&R's we do the same thing. Thank goodness my mom lives close by!

We dropped Chris off at 9:45 this morning and Em and Andrew were with me but they did fine. I was sad to see him go, but at least I know he will be home next month. I can do 30+ days--I think! We have so many things going on till then that I am hoping that the time will fly by. Maybe I can lose 10 lbs before he comes home too??

So DH is sitting in a gym hanging out till they fly. I never understand why they have to be there so early, but considering some of the yahoo's that he works with it is probably to keep them out of trouble!

Do you see what I see?

Abs likes to pose for pictures whereas Em prefers not to. Must be the age. These were taken at one of the Smithsonians by DH. They crack me up.

Dinosuars...Oh my!

Besides The Girl in the Watering Can and her friends, pictures Abs wanted to see the dinosaurs at the Smithsonian. She loves dinosaurs and is a walking encyclopedia about the different type, what they eat, etc. We got to the Smithsonian and came upon some fossils and Abs was so excited! We rounded the corner and saw the different skeletons and she was looking at each one and spouting off facts about the dinosaur. Then we made the mistake of having her look up to see the Pterodactyl above us and she was done. She didn't want to see the dinosaurs, learn about them or even be in the same part of the building. I tried to get a few pictures of her in front of the skeletons and she finally agreed after some convincing on my part. She faked a smile for the pictures and then we had to leave.

Apparently pterodactyl's are herbivores and she was worried they would mistake her fingers for rodents. She cracks me up!

Korean War Memorial

While in DC (I finally got the pictures on my computer) we managed to see almost everything that we set out to see and more. With 4 children in tow we thought that it would be harder, but fortunately they turned out to be good traveling companions as long as we fed them quite frequently.

One of the Memorials that I really liked was the Korean War Memorial. I had not heard anything about this one and was not sure what to expect. The statues of the soldiers that were made to represent every walk of life were huge. The wall had etched into it faces of those that were KIA, MIA or POW's. There is so much symbolism in the memorial as to be expected, from the 38 statues representing the 38th parallel, to the 38 months that were spent fighting the Korean War. I think what affected me the most was the way that the statues reflected in the wall and looked like ghosts.

"OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET"

The Girl with the Watering Can

My mom purchased a book a while back titled The Girl With the Watering Can. She read it a few times and Abs really liked it. The book is about the little girl in Renoir's painting who travels through other works of art and wreaks havoc on them--taking the bow out of the girl's hair, losing the hoop in another, and then finally going back and setting everything straight. (Maybe she likes it so much since she seems to wreak havoc everywhere she goes?)

When we went to Washington DC, we asked each child what they wanted to see while we were there and Abs wanted to go to the National Gallery of Art to see the works of art in the book. She was so excited when we made the plans to go one day and she kept talking about the pictures and everything that happened throughout the book. When we got into the museum we made her ask the woman at the information desk for the location of the painting and off we went. She was so excited when she first set eyes on it! She ran to look for the girl's friends, but we only found three since they have so many works of art that they have to rotate them through. Thank goodness The Girl with the Watering Can was there!

How to drywall

DH tripped over a shoe or a toy last night and fell into the wall and made a huge hole about a foot long and about 6-8 inches wide. Just call him Grace. Hopefully he can figure out how to drywall and repair it before he leaves because I keep imagining things crawling through the hole. Kind of creeps me out.

Syrup anyone?

So the jelly making didn't work out like it was supposed to. We made 31 jars and only 8 jars are actually jelly. It says in the directions that we can open them reboil them, add more pectin and then re-sterilize the jelly jars and then can them again. Boy, that sounds like loads of fun. Sad thing is that we have more juice to use up and DH leaves Friday. Maybe we will just eat waffles and pancakes with grape syrup every night while he is gone?

Free 411

If you call 1-800-FREE-411, you can get directory assistance for free. You have to listen to an ad before you connect and then an ad before you actually get a number.

Update:
I just tried this and it did work, and didn't take long at all. It is voice automated so you have to keep the children quiet or it won't let you do it. They mentioned that if you need to speak to a live operator then you can sign up on their website and then when you call in you can speak to one.

I usually use 411 in the car so this would be great, but if I am in the car I usually have the children. Wonder if they can not talk for two minutes?

Sign up sheets

I was watching the Today show this morning and they had the Duggar Family on there with all 17 of their children. Of course I had to rewind and watch the whole segment and I was furious! Matt Lauer asked them if they (the parents) felt like they didn't have enough one on one time for each of their children. Their response was........

THEY HAVE A SIGN UP SHEET IN THE KITCHEN!

Can you believe that???? In order to spend one on one time with your children they have to sign up when they want to have it? I wish I could have seen how many spots were open up to them. Of course the kids don't think that they are being slighted, but the one son said he doesn't know any different, that he is used to having such a large family.

I think that is the most ridiculous and cruel thing to do. You shouldn't have to sign up or earn the right to spend time with your parents. It shouldn't be a reward to spend time with your mom or dad. I was appalled that they would do this, or that anyone would.

On another note, all 17 of their children stood there during the interview and only one moved around. Weird, my youngest two would have been all over the place.

And babies make 8

My inlaws had one huge dog named Max. I don't really care for Max, but they are devoted dog owners. Then they acquired Tiger that was left in a field. After that they took on our cat Maisy since she would stalk Junior and he has a lot of skin allergies and we needed to get her out of the house so that he would be more comfortable. Their little family was plugging away when they picked up a stray neighborhood dog which they named Schatzi. They had her checked out and were getting ready to have her spayed when they found out she was pregnant (not by their dog). So yesterday afternoon in the span of 2 1/2 hours 6 little puppies were added to the family.

We went to see them today and they are cute. They think that there are 4 boys and two girls. My MIL wants to keep two of them and my FIL wants to find them ALL good homes. I tried to talk to her about adding an additional two dogs to the mix and how that would make it hard to go anywhere and how they couldn't afford to board 4 dogs. She told DH that they would just take the RV (a large van type) and the dogs could sleep on the bed and they (Mil & FIL) would sleep on the floor! I'm sure it would happen too.

They are very responsible pet owners and if I ever come back as an animal I want it to be their dog or cat. The dogs get a leg of lamb each week cooked for them. Tonight while we were eating she got up from dinner and was cooking up some chicken for their dinner. Our cat Maisy is leading the high life over there with special meals, toys, etc. No wonder she never comes out to see us anymore, she doesn't want to leave!

My MIL is sleeping by the dog each night because she wants to make sure that Schatzi takes good care of her puppies and that the runt doesn't get pushed out of the way. She is also supplementing with goat milk the runt's diet.

The best part....my MIL made several different beds for Schatzi to choose from when she was ready to give birth. Instead Schatzi decided that their one year old couch would be a better idea and MIL agreed, so she was allowed to give birth to her puppies on their couch! When I have people guess where they were born they usually choose the bed and I am sure she would have been allowed to if she wanted!

Needless to say I sat on an outdoor chair when we went over there today. While FIL and DH are at NTC I'll help her pick out a new couch so I can recline in their living room again.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

A worthy cause to help raise money to buy phone cards for Soldiers overseas. This last deployment DH was in an area where he couldn't get the really cheap rates some people had access to, so we burned through phone cards.

Cell phones for Soldiers

Support our Troops!

Jelly making

The grapes are boiling and we will be making jelly on Sunday if everything goes right. We might be overloaded with grape jelly especially since my children will not eat peanut butter sandwiches anymore.

While we were on vacation we would often stop for sandwiches at the road side parks since it was so expensive to feed 7 hungry people. It also allowed the children time to run around and exhaust themselves before we set out again in the car for another few hours. For the most part we served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then just plain peanut butter sandwiches after we forgot to put the jelly back in the cooler. My children are so tired of peanut butter they won't eat it anymore. I wonder if we scarred them for life.

Operation Camp Purple

Today we picked Em up from Camp Purple. We paid the extra money and my mom and I went to have lunch with her before the ceremony. We waited patiently while the dorms before her got to eat and then we got in line with her. She had made a new friend who was just as sweet as could be. The food was even good too! Em and her new friend filled us in on everything that they had been doing over the last week. My baby is growing up!

There were many activities that the kids did each day--riflery, rock climbing, swimming, canoeing, community service, environment, drug and alcohol awareness and tons more.

Riflery??? I was shocked! My baby with a gun? It was just a pellet gun and they learned gun safety as well, and she loved it! She made new friends, learned new skills and had the time of her life.

For the ceremony they had all the parents seated and then they had the children march in. We watched them pass out thank yous to the counselors and staff involved in putting this together. Yea NMFA!!!

When all of that was done they had the campers come up one by one where they presented them with a certificate and a picture of all the staff and campers in a nice mouse pad type frame that said "Kids serve too". After each camper received their items they went in front of a microphone and said their name, which parent was in the service, what branch and where they were stationed. After the first two children said "Iraq" I was in tears. My mom wasn't much better as she was crying too. I finally got a little better until a little boy got up there and said his name and something to the effect of my father is protecting us, providing for our freedom, and a few other things. I wish I could remember his exact words because it was pretty powerful coming from a 9 year old little boy. I started crying all over again. What a mess I am!

We made it through the rest of the ceremony, attended a flag ceremony and then got all of Em's items and hit the road. She had tons of stories to tell and about half an hour into the trip she was passed out from exhaustion.

So from our family to NMFA, the Dell Foundation, the Sierra Group and all other people and sponsors that made this camp possible, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. My daughter had the time of her life and for her to be in an environment with other children that understood where she was coming from and were walking in her shoes, the experience was priceless.

For those of you who have children, keep an eye out in your area next summer for these camps as they are entirely free and a great camping experience for your children.

17 children?

I'm sure most everyone has heard of the Duggar's, the family that just welcomed their 17th child into the family. Maybe I am different from everyone else, but why have so many kids? I guess I just feel sorry for the kids. The parents are so proud of how the older ones take care of the younger ones and raise them, but why should the older children be penalized? Of course they (the children) all love it because they don't know any different, but I did have a childhood and goodness knows I didn't want or need the responsibility of taking care of anyone but myself at that age. I just think they need to be kids. If the parents want to have all 17 and raise all of them and parent all of them , that's great! I don't expect my 9 year old to bathe my 13 month old or dress him, change his diapers, or get him to sleep at night. (I believe the mother has full charge of the child until age 2 and then she passes it on to another)

Who knows, maybe I am the weird one, but I'm glad I had a childhood!

A sink full of grapes!

NTC

I went to a battalion meeting tonight about NTC and it was pretty informative. It sounds like the training is going to be pretty realistic--they even have hired Iraqis so they can practice the language and culture. They did say no cell phones though, which is a bummer. I can go that long without talking to him, but it never fails when the Soldier deploys something happens or ten somethings. I remember when I sent a letter to Chris after he first deployed to Iraq in 2003. I told him how I quit my job, Abbie ran into a car, one of the kids was sick, I got housing and was moving and a million other things. When he wrote back he said he thought about addressing all the "issues" but figured since it took so long to get the letter that I probably had a whole new set of "issues". He knows me.

Block leave is still scheduled during the time I booked our trip to Hawaii so I am hoping that nothing messes that up. They gave us a two week window for their deployment to Iraq, which I will keep off of here for obvious reasons. They are planning on having a Battalion ball in a few months. The food usually sucks but I love the string of toasts that they give. Almost makes the whole evening worthwhile. They usually honor the fallen Soldiers from the last deployment and that is always an emotional time.

While I was at the NTC meeting DH took Abs and Junior to pick wild mustang grapes that he saw on the side of the fence during PT. Last Tuesday Abs and Em picked some and then my mom and Abs picked a HUGE amount of them. On Sunday my sister taught us how to make jelly so DH is in there picking through the grapes. I didn't pay that close of attention so I am sure it will entail a dozen phone calls along the way. Abs is excited about it though.

Busy Busy

I don't know how some people can think that I have time to do anything when I stay home with my children. I am busy from the time I get up till the time I go to bed and if for some reason I am not, there are a ton of things I should be doing!

Junior had another well baby today because he still needed his immunizations. He got 5 shots the poor little guy and is passed out in his crib right now.

It's almost 11 and no call from the VLA Theatre yet so maybe Abs is behaving? Abs has a friend who is attending the same camp and her mom sent a backpack of things for them to do since they are bored. This is definitely not as well run as the previous acting camp that she went to. I know that they are short handed, but to expect a bunch of little kids to sit in a chair for hours on end is ridiculous.

We are meeting friends at the pool after acting camp and then we have a predeployment briefing for NTC this evening. I have managed to go to the gym three days this week but I will probably have to take tonight off. I wanted to do the endurance ride on Saturday but we are going to go to Sea World and use the free tickets for the military.

Tomorrow we get Em from Operation Purple Camp. I can't wait to hear all about it! I hope she has had a great time and made some new friends.

On a funny note, Junior has learned to say "Mow" for meow. He hauls around this little stuffed kitten that he got from a vet convention in DC. So cute. I'll try to get it on here.

Study about deployments

Study: Child Abuse by Moms in Army Families Rises When Fathers Deployed

One of my neighbors doesn't need to have her husband gone to neglect her children. Another, her husband was home and DH found her not even two year old out in the cold and rain in a tshirt and diaper watching the rain rush into the storm drain.

My kids are fed, watered, taken care of and most of all loved. To hear them tell tales you would think I am mean! I don't let them get ice cream from the ice cream truck every day. I need to know where they are and who they are with. I won't let them go into other people's houses. They need to stay together. If they only knew what happened in some of these houses their views my be a little different. Some day they will appreciate what I do, but in the meantime I'll just keep on loving them.

Here we go again...

Abs started acting camp on Monday and this time it is only from 9-12 so I figured it wasn't enough time to get bored or in trouble. Guess she showed me! They called me today because she pinched someone and she kicked someone. She promises me she did not kick anyone but she admits to pinching someone. I had to pick her up immediately and if she misbehaves again then she is out of the camp. I don't know what else to do with her. I told her she needed to go to her room when she got home and she has been there all day playing nicely by herself and only coming out to potty and eat lunch. I didn't mean all day!

Any ideas?

Flo on the Go

Didn't I just finish Diner Dash? I was at Sam's and they had Flo on the Go, so I couldn't just pass it up. I should save these things for when DH is deployed and I have nothing to do after I tuck all the children into bed. I'll just play one level before bed....

Camp Purple and other things

Abs started her next acting camp today. This one is from 9-12 and they are putting on Aladdin Jr. I think that the short day will help her get through it with minimal problems. She is excited and they are auditioning for parts tomorrow. I hope she is happy with what she gets! It should be a really cute play. They gave us a CD of music to practice so I am sure we will all be singing the songs by the end of the three weeks.

My in laws kept Abs and Junior today and my mom and I took Em to Camp Purple. I was unsure of what to expect, but it all worked out. They were very organized with setup and had different stations that we had to go through--MRE's (where we signed up to eat lunch with them on Friday), TA-50 (where they picked up a disposable camera and an Operation Purple bracelet), Currency Exchange (where we gave them money for the trading post), Canteens (they were given a water bottle), etc. It was cute. They also had a world map where the children put pictures of their Soldiers around the edges. It was really neat to see all the moms and dads pictures and sad at the same time. They are all missing out on so much in their children's lives.

Anyway, we got Em checked into her dorm, she had a swim test and we left her singing a song about a frog that got run over by a car and was licked up by a dog. I am sure it is one that she will drag home and we will all be singing within a few days of her return.

The drive home was quiet and DH was able to get the kids from his mom's house and attend the FRG meeting and I made it to a cycling class. DH cycled from our house to my mom's house on Sunday so he was more than willing to pass on attending class. They also are allowed to miss PT the next day when they attend the FRG meeting.

The kids are all nestled in bed (I am sure Em is still up since I think they had a dance party scheduled till 10:30 tonight, those wild partiers!) and DH is packing for NTC. (NTC is the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA, where they play war and train for Iraq) He will be gone about a month or so, but with summer winding down and school about to start I am hoping that we will remain busy and the time will pass quickly. He will miss my birthday, but he has missed the last 5 I think, so I am starting to get used to it. Who needs cake anyway! Certainly not my hips!

Sick Part II

Junior got sick again last night, just once. I made him an appointment at the clinic this afternoon. Hopefully they can figure out what is going on with him. None of the rest of us are sick and with the way things are passed around here I would have thought we would all be sick by now. Hopefully he starts feeling better soon!

Ouch!

DH and I did go on that bike ride this afternoon. The inlaws kept the children and we went almost 19 miles (18.79 to be exact). I probably could have done more but DH's feet were killing him because of the wrong shoes. We stopped off when we were almost done to look at a house for sale and when I went to get back on the bike I managed to fall. Usually my husband is the one who falls.

My left knee is scratched up and down the front of my shin. I also managed to scratch up my right knee a little and get some bruises. My arm came out the best and was just a little red. My pride was hurt more than anything! DH jumped off his bike and ran back over--I wish he was that attentive when I was having his three children!

I managed to ride back to the house and he doctored me up. I don't know how I managed to fall but at least it wasn't while we were speeding down a hill or something when the injuries could have been worse. I think we will ride again Sunday and hopefully get in 20-25 miles. I just hope I can manage not to kill myself on this bike.

Teeth

Maybe Junior was sick because he is getting 8 molars in at the same time??? No idea if there is any correlation, but I know his mouth hurts. So does my shoulder where he bites me when his binky is not in. Little stinker!

DH got off early today so I am trying to convince him that we need to go for a bike ride. I went to spinning on Monday and Wednesday and rode Sunday, so this would be a nice ending to the week. I'd love to go to the extended ride on Saturday but I will be heading out to my cousin's baby shower. Maybe next week.

Combat Lifesaver

DH's company is requiring everyone to become a combat lifesaver. While my husband is already certified, a refresher course is always good and I think that everyone should have this training. It's a week long course (although the one in the article was two days) worth promotion points ,although only 5-10 points. Seems like something like this would be higher in points, but no one asked me!

This morning on his little bit of sleep he headed out to save soldiers while being fired upon. He said the training was very realistic and he passed.

I don't think he will ever be able to have a job where he sits behind a desk for 40 hours a week.

My Mom

My mom is a writer, a very good one. She has been published numerous times and is writing her memoirs for her grandchildren right now. She just started a blog that you should checkout.

Sick

Yesterday DH and I went to the gym for the spinning class. It hadn't even started yet when they told us Junior had thrown up. DH went and got the kids while I completed the class. (Go me!) They all came back to pick us up and DH thought that Junior had just spit up due to his reflux. Everything was fine and we went home and DH went to the late spinning class.

This morning about 3 Junior got sick. He only got sick twice and he seems to be doing better. After changing his sheets and clothes and starting laundry I started scrubbing toilets. Nothing says "I love you" more than a clean toilet when you are getting sick. I figured if it is contagious I wanted to be prepared, especially since Abs put Junior's binky in her mouth and Em was drinking out of his sippy cup at school registration yesterday--when will they learn????

Anyway, Junior is napping and no one else is sick--so far so good. Abs starts another acting camp next week and Em goes to Operation Purple next week so we need to be healthy! Not to mention my mom doesn't want to get it!

School

I finally got Abs enrolled in school next year. It was a pain, but done. Let's hope it all works out for the best. This will be her first year in public school.

GYM II

The gym called yesterday and made me another offer. I never showed up and called yesterday to tell them no way. Instead they call again today and make another offer. Too late.

I love the new gym. I did cancel my orientation because it interefered with my spinning class tonight, but I'll make it up later.

Kisses

Junior has mastered giving kisses. Nothing is sweeter than baby kisses.

It's raining babies...

I actually know more civilian people pregnant than military people.

I must not know that many military people anymore, guess I should get out more especially since I live on post!

Gym

I joined a new gym today. My membership expired at the old place and they wanted to charge me an arm and a leg to join. The guy who originally signed me up called me and offered me pretty much the same deal the girl at the desk offered and I told him I was going to look around. He called back a few hours later and gave me a better deal but still not that great. I joined their competitor. They threw in 6 months for Chris so that is nice since we rarely can workout together.

Tonight Chris met me and we went to a Spinning class. I was okay but Chris had a hard time. He did make it through the class and then he took the kids home and I swam for half an hour. I loved swimming in high school but with three kiddos I rarely have time for it. The pool was a big selling point to me. Anyway, the class was 10 times better than the other class so we are good to go.

DH and I also got new bikes on Saturday. The bike shop was great and we took them for a spin on Sunday. We rode the hills about 12.44 miles and it was great! Maybe I will be ready for 40 miles in October....I hope.

Big Brother

I don't know why I watch this drippy show, but I do, faithfully. I just finished up all 7 episodes I missed while on vacation. (What did I do before DVR?) I think it will be an okay season, but if Amber does not stop crying over everything I think I will scream!

Whose your favorite?

Foamhenge

We were driving in TN looking for a place to have a picnic lunch and let the kids run around. We came across a Foamhenge sign and of course stopped to see it.

I remember seeing the real Stonehenge when my family and I went to the UK back in maybe 85? Here a couple of shots. It was interesting in a weird sort of way....

Home

We got to my mom's house at 2:30 this morning and we crashed there. I got up and worked and we are home now and have a million things to do. I am exhausted.

All in all it was a great trip and everyone seemed to enjoy thermselves--although I think we are all sick of Peanut butter sandwiches.

Headed Home

We are headed home and made it to Tennessee. Just got out of the pool and got the kids are supposed to be sleeping. We are going to try to hit Graceland tomorrow and we should be home by Thursday. I have to work on Friday and I am sure my mom is overly excited that after 14 days together that I will immediately be taking all three kiddos over there for her to watch while I work--At least she will have the weekend to recuperate.

Oh and Abbie rode in the third row of the Highlander for a few hours before she threw up all over Chris. We moved her up to the second row and she only got sick one more time and then she was back in true Abbie form. Guess I have one that gets car sick. Of course we didn't have a bucket or bag handy but had an empty formula can full of bananas that I threw all over my mom at the time. Luckily? my pillow caught most of it. I do not do well with urpy kids! Hopefully the rest of the trip will be uneventful but I have a ton of funny stories to tell about it. At least funny to us, lol.